Work Permit No Longer Necessary for L-2 Visa Holders; Automatic Extensions for H-4 Visa Holders

A recent class action legal settlement has resulted in good news for thousands of spouses of L-1 visa holders, as well as spouses of H-1b visa holders. L-2 visa holders will now be issued work authorization automatically and will not be required to submit an application for an EAD. H-4 visa holders will now be eligible for an automatic extension of their employment authorization if a timely extension request has been submitted.

The new government policy highlights are below:

• Provides that certain H-4, E, or L dependent spouses qualify for automatic extension of their existing employment authorization and accompanying EAD if they properly filed an application to renew their H-4, E, or L-based EAD before it expires, and they have an unexpired Form I-94 showing their status as an H-4, E, or L nonimmigrant, as applicable.

• Provides that the automatic extension of the EAD will continue until the earlier of: the end date on Form I-94 showing valid status, the approval or denial of the EAD renewal application, or 180 days from the date of expiration of the previous EAD.

• Provides that the following combination of documents evidence the automatic extension of the previous EAD, and are acceptable to present to employers for Form I-9 purposes: Form I-94 indicating the unexpired nonimmigrant status (H-4, E, or L), Form I-797C for a timely-filed EAD renewal application (Form I-765) stating “Class requested” as “(a)(17),” “(a)(18),” or “(c)(26),” and the facially expired EAD issued under the same category (that is, indicating Category A17, A18, or C26).

• Provides that E and L dependent spouses are employment authorized incident to their status and therefore they are no longer required to request employment authorization by filing Form I-765 but may continue to file Form I-765 if they choose to receive an EAD.

Are you an employer needing assistance with a visa application? We would be happy to see if we can help! Contact us today at theteam@huwelaw.com or 415-849-1199.